Status of Virtual Currency Trading Platforms in Mainland China: Comprehensive Ban and Risks
Regarding the question "Are there any legitimate virtual currency trading platform Apps in mainland China?", according to the current regulations of the Chinese government, the answer is clear: currently, there are no "legitimate" or legal virtual currency trading platform Apps within mainland China. The Chinese government has continuously strengthened its regulation of virtual currencies since 2017 and completely banned virtual currency trading and related financial activities in 2021.
Overview of Virtual Currency Regulatory Policies in Mainland China
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) and nine other departments jointly issued the "Notice on Further Preventing and Disposing of Risks Related to Virtual Currency Trading and Speculation" on September 24, 2021. This notice explicitly defines all virtual currency-related business activities as illegal financial activities, including but not limited to the exchange between legal tender and virtual currencies, exchange between virtual currencies, buying and selling virtual currencies as a central counterparty, providing information intermediation and pricing services, token issuance financing, and virtual currency derivatives trading. The notice also emphasizes that overseas virtual currency exchanges providing services to residents within China via the internet also constitute illegal financial activities and will be subject to criminal liability in accordance with the law.
Platform Withdrawal and Exit
- Following the ban in 2021, several major virtual currency trading platforms, including Binance (Binance), OKX (formerly OKEx), and HTX (Huobi), announced that they would delist mainland Chinese users and cease providing related services by the end of 2021.
- Many domestic associated companies of these exchanges have also been deregistered or are in the process of deregistration to comply with regulatory requirements.
Legal Risks of Personal Holdings and Transactions
- Although holding virtual currencies personally is not explicitly deemed illegal, any transaction, exchange, or financing activity involving virtual currencies may cross legal red lines.
- In judicial practice, courts generally consider cryptocurrency trading to be outside the scope of legal protection when hearing related cases, and relevant civil legal acts may be deemed invalid.
Continued Crackdown and "Mining" Ban
- As of November 2025, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) led a meeting of 13 departments, reiterating that virtual currency-related businesses are illegal financial activities and for the first time clearly defining stablecoins, demonstrating the normalization and institutionalization of regulation.
- In February 2026, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and eight other departments once again upgraded virtual currency regulatory policies, severely cracking down on speculative activities related to virtual currencies and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.
- In addition, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments completely banned virtual currency "mining" activities in September 2021 and continue to advance rectification efforts.
Hong Kong's Special Status
It is worth noting that Hong Kong, as a special administrative region, has a different regulatory framework from mainland China. Hong Kong is exploring and establishing a regulated digital assets framework, which may be seen as a "sandbox model" between mainland China's strict controls and global cryptocurrency innovation. However, Hong Kong's policies do not apply to mainland China.
Conclusion
Given mainland China's strict regulatory policies on virtual currency trading, there are currently no "legitimate" domestic virtual currency trading platform Apps. Any platform claiming to operate legally in mainland China is suspected of being illegal. For residents of mainland China, participating in virtual currency trading carries serious legal risks and financial security risks. Please be sure to comply with local laws and regulations and do not engage in illegal financial activities.
